Arabic version: ميلانيا ترامب تنفي الروابط مع إبستين وتدعو إلى جلسات استماع في الكونغرس

According to BBC News,

First Lady Melania Trump has denied connections to Jeffrey Epstein, telling reporters at the White House that any claims linking the two “need to end today.” In a surprise announcement on Thursday, the first lady called for congressional hearings for survivors of Epstein’s sex trafficking. She also denied online rumours that Epstein introduced her to Donald Trump, calling them “mean-spirited attempts to defame my reputation.”

Melania Trump clarified that she had only briefly “crossed paths” with Epstein in 2000 and emphasized that she was not a victim of his crimes. “I have never had any knowledge of Epstein abuse of his victims,” she stated. Furthermore, she denied any connection to Ghislaine Maxwell, the disgraced financier’s jailed associate, characterizing a released email between them as merely a “polite reply” and “casual correspondence.”

In her remarks, she expressed support for victims of Epstein’s trafficking, urging lawmakers to allow them to testify under oath in front of Congress. “Each and every woman should have her day to tell her story in public if she wishes, and then her testimony should be permanently entered into the congressional record,” she said. This call for public hearings has garnered support from California Democratic Representative Robert Garcia, who urged immediate action from the House Oversight Committee.

The first lady’s statement is likely to reignite intense public debate over the handling of the justice department’s investigation into Epstein and the subsequent release of its files. While Donald Trump has acknowledged he knew Epstein for a time, he later claimed he expelled him from his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach for being a “creep.” The President was mentioned numerous times in the Epstein files, but there is no indication of wrongdoing.